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£300.00
Samantha Fenn 'Living With' the Cosatto Shuffle
Hi, I'm Samantha! I live with my partner Paul and our 2 munchkins, Mason (2) and Korey (2 months). We enjoy going out on day trips as often as possible, whether it be to the seaside, a country park or a walk to the local farm.
I'm currently on Maternity leave and
enjoying spending more time with the kids, watching them explore the world and
become the best of friends. I'm looking forward to trying out the Shuffle,
seeing how it fares on the cobbles of Chesterfield and how easy it is to travel
with a double on the train. Exciting times ahead for the Shuffle and my
munchkins!
Living With Review
Jump to a Month: July 2013 | August 2013 | September 2013 | October 2013 | November 2013 | Final Summary |
First Impressions
I was SO happy when I saw the delivery man pulling the bright blue box off the delivery van! I was going to wait for Paul to get home to help me assemble the Shuffle as I'm not usually very good with that kind of thing but I couldn't wait to get my mitts on it and see what it's all about. On opening the box, I was quite surprised how flat it packed down, it really does just look like a large version of an umbrella fold single pushchair. It came with the front wheels unattached which were very easily clipped on and plenty of packaging protecting the bright red frame. The two hoods also needed attaching upon assembly, which again was easily done.
.jpg "Cosatto Shuffle")
I put it together pretty easily by myself in about 10 minutes … Voila! Ready to go! My first impressions is that its very long and I'm not quite sure how well its going to push on the cobbles in town… or how easy it will be getting up and down pavements. The basket seems a pretty decent size for a tandem pram and the pattern is very eye catching.
.jpg "Cosatto Shuffle")
One thing I know for certain is that Mason couldn't wait to try it out, his exact words were ‘Wow Stars! Mummy, me sit on stars please?'
***************************
So today we took the shuffle out for the first time. It took a bit of getting use to because of the length and it was quite difficult to push when the curb was on a camber but still much easier to push than I had anticipated. The way to the park is quite hilly so pushing any pushchair isn't the easiest of tasks but overall we're really impressed with our first trip out.
.jpg "Cosatto Shuffle")
July the 17th 2013
Today I realised how great the viewing panel on the Shuffle is! I could
see Korey very clearly and he could see me so we exchanged some secret
smiles whilst out n about. It Would be good if there was the option to
cover the panel though as the sun kept shining in Koreys eyes if we were
in the wrong position so I was having to position myself to protect
him.
July the 25th 2013
Had walk upto the butchers today and got stopped by a lady who was
pregnant and had (what looked like) an 18 month old stop me and ask
where I got the Shuffle from as she loved the pattern. I told her its
was a Cosatto Shuffle Tandem so she could search for her nearest
stockist!
July the 27th 2013
Ok… so today we went to the Zoo and had an AMAZING time. However, the
Shuffle couldn't come with us =( Usually we take Pauls car out on longer
journeys but as he was still hungover (naughty daddy!) we had to take
mine. This wouldn't usually be an issue but as I have a Clio, the
shuffle just would not fit in my boot. I tried taking the hoods off to
make it shorter, trying different angles to get the pushchair in but
nope, it is definitely too big for my tiny boot =( Very gutted! But just
goes to show just how important it is that you try out these situations
before you purchase a pushchair.
July the 31st 2013
Today we decided to do a spot of shopping at the local outlet. Already
knowing that the Shuffle doesn't fit in my Clio we needed to take Paul's
car. I have to say that the Shuffle definitely wasn't designed for car
users. Paul had a Mazda 3 which has quite a roomy boot but as you can
see we had to take the parcel shelf out and put the wheels on the
headrest to fit in. Not really an ideal fit but it fits.
August the 2nd 2013
Something I really like about this pushchair is the pattern on the
inside of the hoods, particularly for the baby on the backseat. I don't
know if this is intentional or not but the pattern is small, bold, black
stars on a white background with the occasional bit of red frame
showing through. Babies love bold, easy to see prints in red, black and
red so Korey is absolutely fascinated with the pattern he can
see...Great for his developing eyesight :) Although not looking so
impressed in this photo!
August the 7th 2013
I'm really impressed with the attention to the small things with this
pushchair. One feature I haven't come across on other tandems is the
ability to clearly see the child in the front seat. The whole back of
the hood is a viewing panel so I can see Mason at all times which is
great! I can spy on him when he's being a monkey.
August the 9th 2013
My new Pink Lining bag arrived yesterday (thank you Pushchair trader!!)
and I couldn't wait to show it to the world! Here's how it hangs on the
Shuffle, not an ideal position as my knees knock it as I walk but I can
deal with that :).
August the 24th 2013
We went to a 40th birthday party today, the 40th birthday party of the scuba diving club where me and Paul met 7 years ago.
There were stalls and games on the car park which is a little worse for wear but despite the bumpy ground and in places very uneven paving the shuffle steered well.
Korey is starting to get more nosey now too at 4 months old so we're considering moving the backrest up a notch very soon...
August the 28th 2013
Today it was Pauls big 40th birthday! We opened lots of presents in the morning and then went upto the local park where there was a special fun day ... 'Skegness comes to Hasland'. We took the shuffle with us as it was sunny and our Minene cover does an excellent job at covering Korey in the back. Mason didn't really want to sit in the pushchair whilst there so the front seat was home to the changing bag… however we needed to keep him close by and we found a brilliant way to utilise the Shuffles' carry handle… it's great as a handle for walking toddlers too!
One of the things I organized for Pauls birthday was a trip to Manchester for an indoor skydiving experience. As we're going to Disneyland Paris in October I decided it would be best to have a ‘trial run' with the Shuffle and go to Manchester via public transport.
Mode of transport #1: Taxi to the station. I explained to the taxi firm our issues with boot space and the pushchair so they suggested we booked an estate car. I'm very pleased to confirm that the Shuffle fits very easily into the boot of a Ford Focus Estate. Hoorah!
Mode of transport #2: Train. We caught the 9:18 train from Chesterfield to Manchester. The main reason we've decided to take this pushchair is because it's one unit and we're not having to dismantle the pushchair every time we need to use it. As the train departs very quickly this is by far the most important factor for us when taking a pushchair on the train. Unfortunately problems did arise once we were on board. Because of the length and folded height of the pushchair it meant that it couldn't fit onto the overhead storage or into the luggage storage area so we had to find an empty seat and place it there. The only other option we had was to place it onto a seat which was ok but not ideal when passengers have pre-booked seats and you're having to move the pushchair at every stop. On the way back we were allowed to fix it to the carriages bike rack which was much better and whilst not ideal at least this is something we know in advance ready for our trip to France.
Mode of transport #3: Bus. We wanted to get from the train station to the Trafford center and was told the cheapest way to do this was via bus so off we went to the bus stop. We tried to wheel the Shuffle onto the bus but unfortunately the driver instructed us to take it down. I'm unsure if this is policy or just because of the sheer size of the shuffle but if we were allowed to keep the pushchair upright it would easily have fit into the designated pushchair area which is where we had to put it whilst in its folded state anyway. Again we did encounter a problem because as we have now found, the brakes do not work when the pushchair is folded. This meant that the pushchair was rolling when the bus braked which wasn't a big issue but it would have better if the brakes could have prevented it from rolling.
Although we encountered a couple of problems along the way we're happy with taking the shuffle on public transport and ready for our trip to Disneyland in just a few weeks time!
September the 18th 2013
Korey is 5 months old today and I'm not quite sure where the last 5 months have gone! What I do know is Korey is super nosey these days so we have put him into a more upright position on the back seat. He loves it! I'm a little concerned at how loose the straps are (even on the tightest setting) and that they don't offer much support but as he's starting to sit a little unaided I'm hoping it isn't going to be much a problem.
September the 24th 2013
Today we had some lovely weather and decided to make the most of it by taking a walk to the village…whilst Mason rode some of the way. After a good ride around Mason got a little tired and we discovered that we can balance a small toddler balance bike between the front and back seats. No chance of either child being harmed so it's all good and a bonus for mummy… steering the Shuffle with one hand whilst dragging a bike behind me would be a definite no go.
So we're preparing for our Trip to Disneyland Next Week….EEK!
We decided that now was the best time to put the foot muff on, we knew Mason wouldn't like it so have left the front one off and only put Koreys on the back seat. I have to say, I have NEVER come across a pushchair that has been so difficult to unclip the straps to enable us to put them through the back of the foot muff. Neither myself or Paul could physically press the clips enough to be able to separate the two pieces and ended up getting some electrical tweezers to help with the job.
Ocotber the 14th 2013
D Day is Here! Off to Disneyland we go! After a bit of a rough start with the Taxi we got on the train to London. We paid to go first class and was able to put the pushchair in the disabled spot which was un occupied. After a short trip to a coffee bar we checked into the Eurostar area and boarded the train to Disneyland!
Now, the Eurostar doesn't have a great deal of luggage
space and we weren't one of the lucky ones to board first so there really
wasn't a lot of space to put the Cosatto but Paul managed to lift and place it on top of the other luggage
which wasn't easy due to the weight of it. Never the less we couldn't have
managed doing this leg of the journey with pushchair which isn't a one piece
fold.
I think a comfortable little boy in the back was happy to arrive...
October the 16th 2013
We got to use the rain cover today (booooo). It's a HUGE cover that covers all of the pushchair and attaches around the legs to hold it in place. Its great because it covers your shopping bags and change bag hanging on the handles. However there was a major downside. Masons feet poked out of the bottom of the front seat and there was very little space between him and the rain cover front which resulted in a BIG screaming match as it steamed up very quickly and we think this made him feel a little claustrophobic. We managed to get him back in it for a short time when the rain had stopped but this was very short lived.
October the 17th 2013
Our 4th Day in Disney and we
have 2 very tired boys. The first time Mason has managed to sleep in the
pushchair with the help of a Trunki Snoozihead.
October the 18th 2013
Our Final day in Disney. Whilst we're glad we brought the Cosatto instead of our twp piece, it hasn't been the easiest pushchair to push around all day everyday for a week. As Mason didn't want to sit in the pushchair a great deal, it wasn't too bad as their wasn't too much weight in there but when he was in the pushchair it was quite difficult to push. It wouldn't turn and wasn't too easy to maneuver, myself and Paul had to keep taking in turns as it was making our backs hurt. I'm not actually sure what the weight limit is for the front seat but I do think our time using a double is close to the end as Mason is getting bigger.
October the 31st 2013
Its Halloween! We're off out trick or treating and taking the Cosatto with us as we know Mason is going to get tired on the walk back. However… he refused to go in the pushchair again and we ended up carrying him =( I don't know if the rain cover has put him off or he just doesn't want to go in anymore.
After a number of times trying to get Mason
to ride in the shuffle once again we are faced with a tantrum.
We've had a
great time with the Shuffle and it has proved invaluable on our adventures but
I do think we have come to the end of our journey.
We've had lots of fun with the Cosatto Shuffle and it has shared
many special adventures with us. The fact that it has been a one piece double
has been invaluable on adventures
but I don't feel that it has been the most practical pushchair for my family to
use on a daily basis. However, its very sturdy, eye catching and seems very
comfortable, particularly for baby in the back. Attention to details such as
the two viewing panels and patterns on the insides of the hoods impressed me as
some other brands miss the little things out.
I don't feel this to be a very practical day to day pushchair due to the
size and weight of it but if you are someone on a budget who uses public
transport a lot then this would be good for you.
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